Chapter 1552: Spatial Cloud Crystal
Following another flash, the thin thread re-entered through the light barrier, encountering no obstruction whatsoever yet again.
The Fire Raven then blasted the thin thread out of its mouth again, aiming it at a wooden chair in the room on this occasion.
The scenes that unfolded next immediately sent a stir running through Han Li's heart!
After the thin thread flashed past the wooden chair, the latter immediately turned into a pitch-black color before being corroded into nothingness.
This golden and silver thread really was extraordinarily toxic!
Han Li exhaled as he made a hand seal, and the silver Fire Raven flew toward him before disappearing into his body in a flash.
Han Li then closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
However, in the next instant, he suddenly opened his eyes again as his brows furrowed slightly.
Right at this moment, a voice sounded from outside.
"Junior Qing Xiao is here to pay her respects to Mr. Han. May I have the honor of requesting an audience with you, Mr. Han?"
This was an unfamiliar female voice that carried with it an irresistible air.
"Qing Xiao?" Han Li was rather perplexed. He was sure that this was definitely the first time he'd heard such a name.
With that in mind, Han Li released his spiritual sense, and it passed through the white light barrier, thereby allowing him to glean the scenes outside the wooden cabin.
There, he discovered a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties in an azure palatial dress. She was extremely beautiful, and there was an indescribable air of regal grace about her.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward her to find that this young woman possessed a mid-Deity Transformation Stage cultivation.
After a brief pause, he slowly asked, "Who are you? You're not a Fire Yang being from Firecloud Island, are you? How do you know that I'm staying here?"
"I'm the master of Bai Zhu'er of the Fire Yang Race. I heard that the Fire Yang Race was in grave danger, so I came here to offer them my assistance, but I heard that you had already saved the entire race. My disciple told me that you're immensely powerful and could be a senior of the upper three tiers of upper race, so I decided to pay you a visit in the hopes that I could perhaps learn something," the woman said with an earnest smile on her face.
"You're that little girl's master? Alright, I wanted to come out of seclusion in the next few days anyway, and I also have some questions for you. Seeing as you've paid me a visit, it looks like I have no choice but to meet you," Han Li chuckled.
Before Qing Xiao had a chance to reply again, the white light barrier around the wooden cabin suddenly dissipated, immediately following which the wooden door opened of its own accord.
The woman hesitated briefly before calmly making her way into the cabin.
After entering the cabin and catching sight of Han Li, a hint of surprise flashed through the woman's eyes.
It was quite clear that Han Li's youthful appearance came as quite a surprise to her. However, a respectful look immediately appeared on her face after she swept her spiritual sense toward Han Li, and she extended a curtsey as she said, "You really are a being of the upper three tiers of the upper race; it appears I was right to come here."
"Your cultivation base is nothing to be scoffed at, either, Fellow Daoist. Take a seat," Han Li said in a calm manner as he inspected the woman with a faint hint of blue light flashing through his eyes.
Qing Xiao expressed her gratitude before taking a seat on a wooden chair beside the bed.
"You're using wind-attribute cultivation arts, right?" Han Li suddenly asked.
His question immediately brought a hint of surprise to the woman's face.
"How did you know, Senior? Could it be that we've met before?" Qing Xiao asked.
"That's not the case. It's just that your movements are quite light and graceful, and the aura of the treasures you're carrying are all of the wind attribute, so I deduced that you were perhaps a wind-attribute cultivator," Han Li explained in a calm manner.
Han Li's reply was quite nonchalant, but the woman was quite stunned. It wasn't difficult to identify a person's cultivation base at a glance, but it was quite extraordinary that he was able to even identify the attributes of the treasures hidden within her body.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, the expression on Qing Xiao's face became even more respectful as she carefully said, "Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Senior! I am indeed mainly using wind-attribute cultivation arts. I heard from Zhu'er that you're a sword cultivator, and that you're not from our Flame Coral Islands, Senior; may I ask if you're from the Thunder Continent or perhaps elsewhere in this nearby region?"
Han Li smiled upon hearing this, and he replied, "I'm neither from the Thunder Continent nor from anywhere nearby."
Qing Xiao's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but a thought then suddenly occurred to her as she exclaimed, "Does that mean you're from another continent, Senior?"
"You really are a smart person, Fairy Qing," Han Li replied with a smile.
Qing Xiao's heart jolted with shock upon hearing Han Li's admission.
Only after a long while did the shock on her face fade, and she exhaled as she said, "The fact that you were able to get here from another continent is a testament to your abilities, Senior. It's no wonder that you were able to kill those two Black Rakshasa Monarchs so easily. However, most seniors from other continents traveling to our Thunder Continent wouldn't pass through our Flame Coral Islands, so you're the first cultivator from another continent to have graced this region in the past 10,000 years."
"Hehe, when you put it that way, I feel quite honored. However, I must clarify something; I never intended to come here, and I only ended up in this place as a result of an accident," Han Li replied with a wry smile.
"Regardless of how you got here, it's undeniable that you possess extraordinary powers, Senior. I've encountered a few issues with my cultivation recently, would you be able to enlighten me, Senior?" Qing Xiao asked with a smile.
"I wouldn't dare to claim that I can provide you with enlightenment, but we can certainly exchange our knowledge with one another," Han Li replied with a calm nod.
Qing Xiao was ecstatic to hear this, and she immediately expressed her gratitude.
She was naturally aware that even though Han Li was speaking about this as if it were a fair exchange, she was the one that would be benefitting far more from this due to the vast disparity between their cultivation bases.
Thus, the woman began to make cultivation related inquiries to Han Li. Even though the cultivation arts they were using differed quite drastically, there were common issues that the vast majority of cultivators encountered at certain points in their cultivation.
Han Li made no effort to hide anything, either. After carefully listening to the issues she raised, he really did give her some useful instructions.
Even though he didn't say much, he was still a Spatial Tempering cultivator, so his guidance was undoubtedly vastly beneficial to Qing Xiao.
As such, she was ecstatic as she listened with rapt focus, and her eyes were bright with excitement.
Of course, the woman also revealed some of her cultivation secrets during this process, and some of those aspects were also somewhat helpful to Han Li as well.
Thus, the two of them conversed with each other for half a day. After Han Li answered the woman's final questions, she closed her eyes and silently processed his response for a long while before suddenly opening her eyes. She then rose to her feet and extended a grateful bow toward Han Li as she said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. Your teachings have saved me at least several decades of arduous cultivation."
"It wasn't much; I was merely answering your questions. Besides, I have some things that I'd like to ask you as well, so it'll be an exchange of sorts," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
"Please ask me any q
uestions you may have, and I'll be sure to answer them to the best of my ability, Senior," Qing Xiao declared without any hesitation.
"I don't have any particularly complex questions; I just wanted to ask you if there were any long-distance teleportation formations nearby that could teleport me to another continent," Han Li said in a serious voice.
"Teleportation formations? Are you trying to get back to your own continent, Senior?" Qing Xiao immediately guessed Han Li's intentions.
"Indeed. I'm almost fully healed from my injuries, and I don't intend to stay here for much longer. According to my experience, long-distance teleportation formations should exist in all places inhabited by large numbers of cultivators," Han Li replied with a nod.
A wry smile appeared on Qing Xiao's face upon hearing this. "That is indeed true, Senior, but I'm going to have to disappoint you."
"What? There are no teleportation formations here?" Han Li's heart sank a little upon hearing this.
"If you'd come here several thousand years ago, then there would still be a teleportation formation on Flame Coral Islands that led straight to the Thunder Continent. However, this formation was destroyed by a massive beast from another region of the sea thousands of years ago, and the high-grade cultivators guarding the formation have also all been devoured by this beast. Unless you're confident in your abilities to fly to the Thunder Continent, I'm afraid this region of the sea is virtually inescapable, Senior Han. I presume that's also why the Black Rakshasa Race were able to reveal themselves in such a reckless manner and suddenly attack the Naga Race," Qing Xiao sighed.
Han Li was silent for a long while before a grim expression appeared on his face, and he asked, "Is there no way to repair the teleportation formation?"
"If we had sufficient materials, it would certainly be possible to repair the formation," Qing Xiao replied.
"Oh? From the sounds of it, the main caveat here is the inability to gather sufficient materials?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
He was carrying many types of rare materials, so he was starting to grow hopeful again.
"We've gathered most of the materials required, but the main core that ensures the function of the teleportation formation is a chunk of Spatial Cloud Crystal, and that material is extremely rare. There are only a few mines that produce such a material on our Thunder Continent, and it's impossible to find it here," the woman explained.
"Spatial Cloud Crystal?" Han Li's brows immediately furrowed upon hearing this.
It was his first time hearing such a name. However, that was not all that surprising. After all, teleportation formations were extremely profound, and each continent most likely had a different method of constructing them, thereby necessitating the use of different materials.
Just as Han Li's expression was gradually darkening even further, Qing Xiao suddenly said something that instilled him with renewed hope.
Chapter 1553: Blue Lake Island
"What? You're saying that Spatial Cloud Crystal was devoured by that giant beast, and that the beast is roaming the nearby area?" Han Li was rather incredulous.
"Indeed. At the time, the giant beast devoured most of the entire teleportation formation, including the Spatial Cloud Crystal, and it left this region of the sea immediately thereafter. However, someone discovered this beast again over 100 years ago in the deep sea to the south. On that occasion, it was discovered by a dozen or so upper race beings, but only two of them managed to escape while the others all died. During the next several decades after that, we arranged many hunting parties to try and kill this beast in order to repair our teleportation formation, but not only was this beast extremely powerful, it possessed brains and brawn in equal measure. When there were too many people around, it would hide deep within the sea and refuse to show itself, and it would only attack stragglers or small hunting parties. As such, many cultivators perished during our attempts to slay the beast, all to no avail," Qing Xiao sighed in a resigned manner.
"What kind of abilities does this beast possess to make it such a difficult opponent?" Han Li asked with a peculiar look on his face.
Generally speaking, regardless of how powerful a sea beast was, it would inevitably be slain if it were to be hunted down by a group of cultivators.
"We haven't been able to identify what species this beast is, but it seems to be a mutated sea beast. From a distance, it appears to be a massive whale, but it can expand or shrink as it pleases, and it's capable of unleashing a water movement technique that allows it to move extremely quickly in the sea. Even on the few occasions where we managed to force the beast into a dire situation, it was able to easily escape after unleashing that technique, thereby making all of our prior efforts go to waste. On top of that, the sea beast is extremely violent and ferocious. Aside from Layman Silver Shark, who's the most powerful cultivator in this region of the sea, no one dares to face the beast on their own," the young woman said with furrowed brows.
The elation on Han Li's face also faded upon hearing this. It appeared that things were not going to be as easy as he imagined.
However, a skeptical look then appeared on his face as he asked, "Will the Spatial Cloud Crystal still remain in the sea beast's body after so many years? Wouldn't it have been refined or absorbed already?"
"Rest assured, Senior, the Spatial Cloud Crystal possesses spatial-attribute powers, so there's no way to destroy it unless an attack imbued with spatial powers is used. That sea beast possesses a diverse range of powers and abilities, but it doesn't possess spatial-attribute powers. That's something that we've managed to ascertain after hunting it for so many years," Qing Xiao replied in a confident manner.
Han Li nodded in response before falling into deep thought.
"Fellow Daoist Qing, do you know the rough location that this sea beast tends to appear in?" Han Li asked.
"Do you intend to kill this beast, Senior Han?" the woman asked as a grave look appeared on her face.
"Indeed. It wouldn't be plausible for me to fly to the Thunder Continent. Even if I fly without any rest, it'll take me the better part of a year, and unless I become significantly more powerful than I am now, I'll most likely perish along the journey considering all of the hazards that are present deep within the ocean. However, if I want to return to the continent that I was originally from, then I have no choice but to visit the Thunder Continent, which is the continent closest to us. Only there will I be able to find teleportation formations capable of teleporting people between continents," Han Li mused as he stroked his chin.
"It would indeed be vastly beneficial to everyone in this region if we could repair the teleportation formation. This region of the sea has a few decent spirit veins, but cultivation resources are sorely lacking, and many people have reached bottlenecks, only to find themselves unable to progress any further. After a few more millennia, all of the cultivation resources in this area would most likely be completely exhausted. If you intend to hunt down this beast, then how about you join forces with us, Senior?" the woman offered with a smile.
She then paused momentarily before continuing, "Truth be told, I left my cave abode on this occasion to visit Layman Silver Shark on his island as he was trying to organize another hunting party to kill that sea beast. I've actually come here to visit you with the intention of inviting you to come along with us, Senior."
"If you can repair the teleportation formation, then of course I wouldn't mind working with all of you,"Han Li replied with a smile.
"Rest assured, Senior, we have all of the other materials ready, as well as capable formation masters who are able to repair the formation. All that we're missing is the Spatial Cloud Crystal," Qing Xiao said with an elated expression.
"That's good to hear." Han Li nodded in response.
"With your assistance, there's a good chance that we'll be able to succeed this time. Layman Silver Shark has asked everyone to gather on Blue Lake Island located to the south in four months, and the hunting party will set off from there to search
for that sea beast. If you truly intend to join us, then you'll just have to turn up on the designated date with this Silver Shark Badge." Qing Xiao flipped a hand over to produce a shimmering silver badge as she spoke.
Han Li accepted the badge from her before giving it a quick inspection.
The badge was of a gleaming silver hue, as if it had been forged from pure silver, and there was a large "shark" character emblazoned onto its surface.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged as he stowed the badge away.
Qing Xiao was overjoyed to see Han Li agree to join their hunting party so quickly, and she chatted with Han Li for a while longer before finally taking her leave after extending a respectful bow.
After she flew away as a streak of white light, the white light barrier appeared around the wooden cabin once again, and at the same time, the wooden doors slowly swung shut.
Over two months later, a long cry and incessant cry erupted from the foot of the small mountain, piercing straight into the heavens.
Almost all of the Fire Yang beings on the island heard this cry, and all of them turned toward that direction with bewilderment etched on their faces.
The high priestess was discussing somethings within the palace with some high-grade serpentine beings, and she immediately emerged from the palace upon hearing this sound. She stood on the plaza and cast her gaze toward the small mountain with a peculiar look on her face.
Moments later, the long cry drew to an abrupt conclusion, following which a streak of azure light shot forth from the foot of the mountain. The streak of light reached an extremely high altitude in a flash, then flew toward the edge of the island.
Not long after that, the silver streak of light appeared over the surface of the ocean several hundred kilometers away from Firecloud Island, heading toward the southern direction without any pause or delay.
Han Li flew within the streak of light in a completely expressionless manner while contemplating what he was about to do next.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 879